Yes, i’m aware that Prince William and Princess Kate had a baby boy this afternoon and everyone here is very excited too! They have our abundant blessings from Regency Nursing Centers! May this new heir to the throne, not require skilled nursing care for many, many years to come!
Can we please get back to business now!
In her article dated July 16, 2013, Stephanie Bouchard, writing for Healthcare Finance News brought up the sore topic of Skilled Nursing Facilities being forced to cut down on service levels as a result of the increased draconian cuts being applied to our industry.
She writes in part:
“For many years, members of the skilled nursing community have been voicing concerns about the sector’s ability to remain viable in the face of continued reimbursement cuts from the federal government.” A new analysis bolsters their argument that SNFs are on shaky ground.
She goes on to invoke an analysis done by Lambert van der Walde, a former capital markets advisor to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ administrator in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He is now the president of van der Walde & Co., a healthcare finance and policy advisory firm. The report was commissioned by the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, which merged with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) on July 1 and is now using the AHCA name.
The analysis was based on financial data provided by 10 large skilled nursing providers who were members of the Alliance between 2010 and 2012. The analysis does not factor in the sequestration cuts.
Van der Walde’s analysis found that company margins have been declining from 2010 to 2012 and that median net income has been nearly halved, from 1.8 percent in 2010 to less than 1 percent in 2012.
This squeeze on margins means that SNFs have fewer resources to use to pay competitive wages, maintain benefits plans and invest in the technologies needed to provide high-quality care, said Alan Rosenbloom, the Alliance’s former president.
The report also notes that while SNFs do have access to capital, they face challenges that other healthcare sectors do not.
To me, this is all balderdash. I’ve been completely spoiled at Regency Nursing and Rehab Centers.
Regency Nursing Centers hasn’t missed a beat since all of these draconian cuts were implemented.
In fact, during this same time, we have constantly pushed the envelope with more and more services offered to our residents. Our staffing levels always exceed industry standards and we maintain 5 STAR, A+ RATING by CMS.
Do we tackle things on our own nowadays?
Sure, we always have! However, we spare no expense for our residents, but are thrifty and frugal with our own expenses. We don’t throw money around on personal items and we make sure to keep our families and residents front and center!
THAT is how we combat the reimbursement cuts affecting our industry, NOT by penalizing the resident!
In fact, I got my hands on this picture taken just a few days ago. In it, our Regency Gardens Administrator, Mark Benedek, is pictured outside of our building tackling something on his own.
Surely, part of his ongoing effort to cut down on expenses instead of cutting down on service!
I have no idea what in the world he’s doing or what he is fixing, but knowing Mark, it is something positive for sure! Mark is one of the most dedicated and compassionate people I know. Our families and residents absolutely adore him!
Hey Mark, you have serious height on that jump, but don’t give up your day job just yet!
Good deal.
